A small town in the midst of endless farmlands and sandy deserts. Terrone Town is a great place to stop by and take some time exploring. A number of nice places to eat and inns to choose from, aswell as numerous shops, makes Terrone Town a popular place to visit. The area is prone to bandits, however.

Black Cat

The hot summer weather turned the farmlands back to dried scrub and dead grass for the season, but Terrone Town continued on like normal. It still bustled with activity and people coming and going, doing all kinds of business.

There was a junkyard sort of a place in the outer edge of the town; no actual full Zoids there, but plenty of parts and... pieces of Zoids and equipment. Among the poorly guarded junk, a black sabertoothed cat dug around, tail flicking. Nobody seemed to have noticed him roaming around yet, even though he'd been here for a decent length of time.

The organoid's ears flicked up suddenly, and he dipped his head down to take a sheet of metal between his teeth and yank, peeling it back from the whole. He crammed his head inside, tail flicking eagerly as he rooted around.

"Oi, what are you doing?" the owner had finally noticed the small, sentient Zoid, and was standing at the base of the pile where the black cat was. The organoid jerked his head up, a metal sphere hanging out of his mouth from a length of wire. The human frowned, "Hey, put that down!"

The cat flicked his ears, as if considering, before suddenly jumping from the pile and bolting for the exit, with the bit of machinery still in his mouth. Yelling, the junkyard owner moved to follow, even though the black organoid was much faster. "Somebody stop that organoid!"

A Whale King hovered half a mile outside of town, just a few hundred yards above the ground. Painted in standard Imperial red and gray with green nose and eyes, the Zoid sports a custom logo on each flank, "Constance Munitions".

With his family heading out on business, Ian had tagged along to do a little window shopping. Or rather, his father Daniel Constance had dragged him along with the intention of making his son take a more active role in the business.

Right now, however, there were no meetings, no sales pitches, and no demonstrations. Ian and his sister Abigail had gotten permission to head into town for a little 'shore leave' from their parents, the siblings headed into Terrone Town for a quick bite and for Ian to have a look around at parts. They had just finished eating and were only at the second store when something caught Ian's eye.

GU-04. Winglider. He hadn't expected to see a Grade Up component out here, and while the component wasn't exactly in the front window, it wasn't sealed away in the back of the store house either.

"I'm getting it."

"You can't be serious."

"Why not? Descat could use the extra versatility, and being flight capable is pretty versatile. Not to mention the increased speed and added weapons."

"You know Dad will flip his top over this. He wants you making money, not spending it." Ian looks at his sister with a little knowing smirk. "Fine, fine. I'll call him and let him know to expect a delivery while you go haggle over an old power component." Abigail rolls her eyes at Ian but smiles, knowing quite well the game they played. Ian typically dropped more than a few subtle hints about shops picking up the weapons and ammo his family sold, while he negotiated about price.

Ian strolls into the store to look for the clerk, but winds up going all the way through to and out the back before he finds someone. Abigail meanwhile is still out front, dialing her parents (who are still on the Whale King) on her cell phone.

A chain link fence rattled as the organoid jumped over it, setting down on the edge as he crossed from one sales yard to another. The man giving the heated chase had to stop himself short of running into the fence, and rattled the links violently to get Ian's attention in the other lot over.

"Stop that organoid!"

The black cat was snickering back over his shoulder when he nearly plowed into Ian, scrambling to a stop and looking up at the boy. He was just a panther type with red eyes, and a few clusters of spikes on his shoulders and haunches. His top canines were more saber-tooth like then normal, but not big enough to the point of being awkward.

His eyes flickered as though he was blinking, and he tilted his head at the boy. It almost had a hint of a challenge to it before he ducked around anyone present and sprinted through the door into the shop, still carrying the circular hunk of metal by a cluster of wires sticking out of the side.

Ian stared at it for just a second while his brain tried to make sense of the scene. An Organoid comes out of nowhere with someone yelling to stop it, it's carrying something in its mouth, and it's looking up at him, like it's expecting something.

Then it darts around him into the shop and his shock broken, Ian pivots on one foot kicking the other back and dropping low, he sprints after the black feline Organoid. "Abigail! Heading your way!" "Like I'm really going to just catch it on my own! I'm a runner, but I'm no Zoid! This little guy is quick!"

On the other side of the shop, Abigail has just gotten a hold of her father on the phone. "Hi Daddy. Umm, Ian and I were out walking through the town and we came across this shop..." she catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye and turns towards it. With the strange Organoid and Ian both darting through the shop, she loses her train of thought and just stares in confusion, trying to figure out what's going on. "I may have to call you back, Dad."

The organoid haphazardly clomped through the shop proper, heedless of his tail knocking anything over. He skidded to a stop at the door, pushing his shoulder against it experimentally. Not having thumbs didn't help him much.

He snapped his head around when he heard Ian running, and bolted down another aisle to try and get out the back.

"You!" the shopkeep from before reached to grab him, making the organoid turn and bound back the other way to try the front door again. He skidded to a stop when he reached it; someone else had noticed the fiasco and come into the shop.

"Denger!" the woman said as the organoid skidded to a stop at her feet. "What are you doing?"

The woman stood only a tiny bit shorter then Ian, but built like a warrior. She was not wearing her coat today, and the hand not holding the door open was resting in the pocket of her urban camo pants. Tapping her boot on the ground, she tucked a bit of red hair over her ear, the last few inches of her dark brown-red hair dyed completely black. Storm didn't look happy but at least she didn't look like she overtly wanted to hurt someone.

The black organoid flattened to the ground at the sight of her, flicking his tail and saying nothing. He looked properly ashamed of himself, but his grip on the component didn't loosen. Storm looked at Ian, her orange eyes curious, before stooping down to try and wrestle the machine away from the organoid.

Ian skidded to a stop when the Organoid quit running. Straightening up, he looked up at the new comer curiously. Noting the reaction the feline Organoid had to her presence, he quickly assumed a connection between the two. "One of yours, Miss? I don't know what's going on, but a couple of fellows were making quite a fuss over whatever that little part he's carrying is." He takes a couple steps towards the two and waves at his sister through the window in an 'everything's okay' way.

He ran a hand through his hair reflexively, pushing the tickling strands out of his eyes. He looked back towards the shopkeep with a nod of acknowledgement. Ian then turned back to Storm and the Organoid, looking at the little part it's holding. "Mind if I ask what he even has there? Or perhaps your name?" He gave her a friendly smile and assumed a comfortable, easy stance with his hands in the lower pockets of his jump suit.

"Can I offer you a hand with that? He seems to have calmed down, but doesn't look keen on sharing his 'treasure'..." He offers while watching her start to try to pry the object out of the Organoid's mouth.

The woman very calmly kneeled down and wrapped her arm around the organoid's neck, keeping him in place while she took the component in her other hand and gave it an experimental tug. She looked like she was about to answer Ian when the shopkeeper caught up.

"Is that your organoid?" he demanded, pointing at the black machine. The woman took a breath that was obviously steadying, giving the organoid a look before looking up at the shopkeep and Ian.

"Somewhat. I don't know what's gotten into him. He's normally very well behaved," she looked back down at him sternly, and the organoid just whirred until she let go of the part. He didn't seem like he was going to put it down anytime soon.

The shopkeep looked torn between huffing and puffing and yelling some more, and not simply because the red haired woman was... a lot bigger them him.

"Well, it doesn't look like he wants to drop it. You're more then welcome to try," she nodded at Ian, then back at the parts guy. "Since clearly it's such an important part," she looked at the beat up bit of metal, obviously very old. "Perhaps I can pay you for it?" Her tone was somewhat condescending, and she didn't bother to hide it. It made the guy start, but he didn't dare say what he was likely thinking.

"I'll deal with you in a second, so stay there," she hissed to the organoid where he was flattened to the ground, and stood up to follow the man outside for a moment. Denger's eyes darted around, lingering on the door, and then to Ian briefly.

Ian stepped casually towards the black Organoid and squatted down near its head. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to be as well behaved as she vouched for you and just let us get a good look at that part that she's buying for you, would you?"

Expecting a 'no' of some kind, but not wanting to provoke such a response, Ian reached gently and slowly out with one hand and laid it on the part in Denger's mouth. He craned his neck to inspect the part a little better, but didn't pull any harder than a little test tug.

"I suppose I should apologize to you for chasing you. It was sort of a reflex when you bolted around me and with them yelling. I suppose me running after you didn't exactly calm the situation down any, did it?"

As he sat there, Ian looked the Organoid over, and took an interest in the component as well. "What HAVE you got here, little one? Some kind of little core? A power converter? What exactly has you so fixated? And who is the lady you were so responsive to, hmm? And here I thought today was going to be boring!"

Outside, Abigail had been watching Ian through the windows of the shop, and she also noted the red haired warrior who went inside. She retrieved her cell phone and redialed her father.

"Hi dad, me again. Little bit of a ruckus out here at one of the shops, some little Zoid causing a commotion. It's apparently fine now though. So, Ian's found a power component for his Descat and is dead set on getting it. What kind of part? Winglider, I think. A set of wings and small lasers he said will give his Zoid flight ability. I know, I know. I agree, dad, believe me. But he's going to mention to the shop keep about our products, so there's...yeah, I know. Look dad, I just called to let you know what he was planning and to expect his Zoid to be equipped when we get back, or it'll be shipped to us. Either way, this was mostly just a heads up, he's already made up HIS mind and you know how he gets. Love you too dad."

As she hung up her phone, she looked back into the shop, debating about talking to the shop keep herself. She had a better sales record than her older brother.

The organoid didn't respond with words, though his ears flicked at Ian and he tilted his head slightly to look at the boy. When Ian's hand reached out, he curled his clawed paws around it and growled softly until the boy withdrew his hand. It looked like some kind of power component or an energy cell, but it was a bit too old to tell for sure.

He paused and seemed to glance up at Ian when he continued talking, frowning. The cat's tail flicked a few times, and he looked up when he heart footsteps of the woman returning. She was alone, but glanced around before looking down at the black cat.

"He's gone, Denger."

Finally! Denger sprang up, facade melting away like an ice cube under a blow torch. The black panther strutted over to Storm, proudly holding his head up with the part dangling from his jaws. I thought that moron would never leave!

"My name is Storm, by the way," the woman said to Ian, though she watched the organoid as he set the part down and started working his saber teeth between some of the crumbling welding. The woman kicked him lightly in the rear, "Don't do that in here."

Then let me out, lady, Denger stood when Storm reached for the door, opening it so the organoid could go outside. Here, the woman hesitated, looking torn. Eventually, she settled for holding the door open and looking at Ian to see if he was going out or staying in. Denger had plopped down on the sidewalk and was back to trying to tear the two halves of the sphere apart.

Ian looked back over his shoulder, in the direction he last saw the shop keep go, then back outside the open door at Abigail waiting outside, momentarily torn between learning more about this woman and her Organoid, or getting his Grade Up part. His decision was made easier by the fact that Abigail was with him, and she was better at negotiation than he was. It was made easier still when she walked into the building, nodding politely at Storm as she went in. "Thank you, miss."

Ian shrugged as Abigail looked at him, and headed for the door. "Fill me in later?"

"Always. I swear you're so helpless sometimes! But if the Descat is gone when he gets ready to deliver the part, I'll have it sent back to the Whale King."

Ian grinned at her, knowing she'd probably get a better business deal from the shop keep than he would, and he hands her his card, before he heads to the door. "My name's Ian, by the way, and this is my sister Abigail." Ian stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked down at Denger, then back up to Storm.

The redhead's expression didn't change from calm, deadpan neutrality as Abigail walked past. Storm's eyebrow hiked up a tiny bit, and she simply nodded a little stiffly after the girl thanked her.

She closed the door behind them, looking slightly lost in the world. Like she knew she should say something, but wasn't sure what.

"It's... nice to meet you, Ian," Storm said finally, settling on using her manners. Even though her default setting with other people was as much distance as possible. It was a habit she was trying to break, after some goading. It didn't sit on her right, yet.

Denger was oblivious to all this, by now having worked his fangs into a crack and working his head back and fourth to widen the crack. The old welding started to creak and split, enough for him to wiggle his paws into it and start to really pry it in half. It didn't seem ready to give quite yet, though.

Abigail walked through the shop, looking around and calling out, "Hello? Clerk?" She made her way through the store, glancing over her shoulder a few times as she did.

Outside, Ian politely inclined his head to Storm and smiled. "Likewise." He looked down at the Organoid chewing away at the component. "And you called this one Denger? Judging by how he reacts to you, I'm guessing he's yours, or that he at least knows you reasonably well. What IS that he has, anyway?" Ian was torn between asking more about this red head or her Organoid, so he opted for the latter, hoping to be less intrusive. He was never the best directly with people, as subtlety was not his strong suit and he didn't pick up on the small cues well. But he knew Storm was uncomfortable, and didn't figure she was inclined to talk about herself, so maybe her Zoid?

Speaking of Zoids....He paused and awaits a reply, so as not to ramble on too much and put her off. His next question came as, "You're a pilot too, right? Just curious, but what kind of Zoid do you usually pilot?"

Denger seemed just fine with ignoring them right now, though his ear did flick at Ian mentioning him belonging to her.

"He's not mine, exactly, though he does like to show up at random and cause me trouble. My organoid is around somewhere," Storm quickly set the record straight, even though earlier she had lied and said that Denger was hers. Denger had also pretended to be a simple organoid, when he was anything but. Now, she turned her full attention back to the cat.

Denger had suddenly hunched his shoulders and stood up slightly, growling as he grabbed a bit of the metal and started to pull with all his might. "Denger, what do you-"

The organoid growled in triumph as the part split in half finally, the delicate balance of things inside spilling out onto the ground. Including a glittering blue rock of a decent size. Denger dipped his head down and picked that up, turning to put it in Storm's hand.

A pretty rock for a pretty lady.

"Denger, this is a piece of magnite. How-?"

They were used in old power components to store and focus heat, Denger shrugged, unconcerned. He turned and wandered off down the street while Storm was looking at the rock, and she looked up to see him all the way down the road and still going.

She rolled her eyes and looked at Ian, "I have Zoids, but I don't know if I'd exactly be called a pilot anymore..." she trailed off like she'd realized that she was actually... you know, talking to someone she didn't even know. "Sturm Tyrann," she said finally. "Dinosaurs in general, though I have my fire fox with me now, as well."

Ian's jaw dropped and he gaped at her. "A STURM TYRANN?!" After a moment of shock, he recoverd himself enough to close his mouth and give his head a little shake and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He blinked his eyes opened a couple times and tried to collect himself.

"That's...incredible! I've never gotten to even see a Sturm Tyrann in person and you pilot one?" He shook his head, a vain attempt to gather his thoughts back together. He looks at her with tremendous respect, and an intense curiosity. "You must be quite an experienced pilot! I have a million questions, but I'll try to contain myself!" He took a deep, steadying breath. "Berserk Fuhrers are some of my favorite Zoids, and I've always wanted to see one, and dream of piloting my own some day. It must be amazing to be able to ride around the land with a partner like that!"

After he realized how he was embarrassing himself, Storm was so nonchalant about everything so far, and he was acting like a kid in a candy store, he turned away a little and raked his hand through his hair, turning a little red. "Sorry, Zoids are my passion, always have been, and....well, like I said, the Sturm Tyrann is my personal favorite!" He sighed. "My family owns a munitions and development company, and we just recently bought an old base of sorts up on Nyx and have it open to the public most of the time, I'd be happy to give you the coordinates if you'd ever like to see it. The basement level is a testing range for weapons of all kinds with artificial environments, and it's nearly a mile across, I've spent a hundred hours down there practicing!"

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other and runs his hand through his hair again. "I don't suppose I'd be able to convince you to let me see it myself at some point?" He grinned a little sheepishly, desperately hoping she didn't think he the loser he felt he sounded like. He didn't normally get like this, but he didn't normally meet someone like this either...

Storm actually took a step back in surprise, looking unsure and a little confused. Down the street, Denger paused where he was, tail flicking. The black organoid turned on a paw and cantered back over to them, smiling hugely. Storm glared sideways at him before Ian started talking again.

This guy's a keeper, Denger rumbled privately to Storm, smiling in the way that he did. She gave him another little glare out of the corner of her eye before addressing Ian again.

"Tyrant is going to get a kick out of you. Of course you can meet him. Don't expect him to be social," the tone of her voice suggested she wanted to say 'don't expect much from him at all', but she didn't outright say it. She shuffled a little awkwardly in place, unsure. After a second, she decided to continue, "My father gave Tyrant to me, so he's very special and sort of old."

Though I wouldn't call him old if I were you. He's going to get enough of a kick out of you as it is, Denger said cheerfully, giant saber teeth glimmering. Storm shook her head at him.

"Did you want to meet him now?" she looked cautiously at Ian, eyebrow raised.

"Right now?! Really?!" "I'd love to!" Ian responded, a little more enthusiastically than he intended. Catching himself, he forced his tone and expression to calm a little, difficult as it was given just how excited he was. "I mean, if it's not too much trouble. Just the chance to see a Sturm Tyrann, up close and in person...I'm practically beside myself! I am sorry, I'm not usually like this, but you've really blown me away!"

"What a day...Wing Glider for Descat, an organoid in the street, and it's partner has a Sturm Tyrann, and she's something on her own! Maybe I SHOULD take more interest in the business, how offer would I have encounters like this back at the base or just running around the desert? This is incredible, what else have I been missing out on???"" "Even if Tyrant, was it? Isn't very talkative, I'd still love to meet him. And maybe learn more about him and his partner? I'm curious what it's like to have such an incredible Zoid as your partner. And an Organoid to boot! I have so many questions, but I can wait," he laughed a little nervously at himself and shifter his weight to,one foot.

"Our Whale King is that way," he pointed behind him, "But I've got the whole rest of the day with no real responsibilities, and people I'd rather not talk to too much, so all the time in the world. Which way are you?" He grinned and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

Despite not knowing how to deal with this situation at all, Storm found herself smiling a little at Ian's enthusiasm. It was only a little smile, like she wasn't quite used to doing it.

"No, it's... it's fine. It's... well, it's good to have something to be passionate about," she said finally, looking as though her own words struck at something inside herself. Denger tilted his head up at her, but she waved him away before he said anything.

(Tyrant is going to feel as awkward as I do about you, I'm sure,) she thought, while Ian rambled, (But at least we won't feel alone in it.)

Storm jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, towards a less populated area of town, "My two Zoids are this way. I have a fire fox named Czar too; he doesn't talk but he's friendly."

No doubt Ian was ready to go at the drop of a hat, so they started walking. Denger trotted next to Storm with all his cat-like grace. Gonna warn him about Diablos, or let him figure that out on his own?

Storm frowned, realizing the organoid wasn't wrong. "My organoid is... extremely unfriendly," she said the last part quickly, since it looked like Denger was about to put in his two cents. The two organoids did not get along by any stretch of the imagination. "I don't think he'd try to hurt you for no reason..."

Yooo, I'll protect you from the big scary dinosaur! Denger seemed to grin.

"As if you two need an excuse to fight..." Storm threw one hand up and rolled her eyes in surrender, and kept walking towards the maroon and gold tyrannosaurus visible in the distance. She frowned when she realized that there were three Zoids she could see, and not the two she was expecting.

Ian's mind was racing a mile a minute. "I don't even know what to ask! I know I SHOULD try to play it cool, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! There's so much I want to know! She acts like having TWO ORGANOIDS AND THE GREATEST ZOID PARTNER OF ALL TIME IS NO BIG DEAL!" How do I ask someone who is so used to having such an awesome daily life that it feels ordinary?" He broke his own train of thought by blurting out a question before he could think about a logical explanation. "You brought two Zoids and Organoids but no transport Zoid? Did you all just walk across the desert? And do the Organoids walk, ride on top or fuze?"

His expression was a quizzical one, clearly a little confused, but as he realized how he sounded he cleared his throat, shook his head and tried to recover. "Sorry. I don't exactly have a lot of experience with Organoids, but yours seem....energetic." He carefully chose the last word thinking of Denger's little escapade at the shops and the impression he got from her change demeanor when she mentioned her other Organoid, and it's apparent relationship with Denger. He looked down at Denger with the last word as well, carefully notiong the way the feline Organoid moved and making mental comparisons to larger Zoids.

"I hope I'm not being rude asking, but where did you meet your Organoids? I understand that they are incredibly rare, and I can't get over that you have two!" He shook his head again and looked off into the distance. Then he caught his first glimpse of the Zoids they were going to see. "A third Zoid? She only mentioned two. But they aren't fighting..." He looked at her. "Someone you know?"

Storm wondered idly if she should correct Ian; she hadn't technically brought Denger, he just tended to follow her around in the shadows. "The zoids walk. The organoids do what they like. Diablos tends to ride or fly. I don't know how this one keeps up without any of us seeing him," she looked down at Denger, who grinned a sneaky grin at her. No matter how she griped about him, she did like having the black organoid around.

Energetic is the nicest way anyone has described me! Denger wiggled his ears at Ian, turning the grin on him now.

"I wonder why," Storm had continued walking once she realized who the third zoid was, and looked annoyed about it. She caught Ian's other question a little late, and looked back at him again. At first, she seemed hesitant to answer, but relented suddenly, "Diablos belonged to my father, as did Tyrant. They were passed to me when my father received... a new zoid." Which was a gilvader, and she really didn't think Ian needed to know that. His head may explode, and she may have to explain her family more than she ever wanted to, to a complete stranger.

"Denger here was created by someone, so he's not a real organoid I suppose. Don't ask me how he did it, because I don't know," Storm stopped when they reached the edge of town, looking at the black organoid. The third zoid had materialized into a maroon and gold energy liger, who was laying sprawled out on his belly and looking as sulky as a pointy cat could look. The fire fox yawped at them, and Tyrant just tilted his head. For the moment, it seemed like Storm was ignoring the sulky energy liger.

But you're glad he did, huh huh? Denger rubbed his head against Storm's leg, and she begrudgingly reached down to pat his side.

Storm eyes flicked briefly to the energy liger, "That's Tempest. He's... a problem. She sighed, resigned, and turned finally towards the three zoids. "Tempest, why are you here?"

Because Timber is an idiot and you deactivated my weapons when you left, so I couldn't do anything about her. the energy liger hissed, his only movement was his claws digging angry furrows in the ground.

You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, kiddo, Denger said suddenly, standing next to Ian and looking excited. It'd been a while since Storm had done anything interesting, and the black organoid had been getting bored.

Ian nodded as she spoke. "Sneaky little guy." He couldn't help but grin back at the Organoid. When Storm mentioned that her Zoid and Organoid were given to her because they were replaced gaze snapped back up with a disbelieving look. "He gave you Tyrant and Denger because he got a new Zoid?!" He shook his head, trying to comprehend the ramifications of the revelation. How could someone just GIVE THEM AWAY? Well, she IS his daughter, maybe he wanted to make sure she was well taken care of? When she continued to explain about Denger, his train of thought derailed, but after a moment he recovered himself and he shrugged. "I've heard of people developing new Zoids in the past and always assumed it would be possible to develop an Organoid, but I've never met anyone with the know-how, or anyone who's ever met anyone with the know-how!" He chuckled lightly. "Absolutely incredible...man..."

Ian frowned a little at the feline Zoid as they got close enough to identify the large trio. "Energy Liger," he all but whispered. "Energy charging blades, heavy beam weapons, flight capable and super-sonic. The Zoid that finally, completely, rendered the Descat obsolete in every way." He stared at the larger Zoid with a combination of jealous envy, awe and grudging respect. The mighty lion couldn't hold his attention for long though, as his gaze came back to Tyrant. His awe-struck expression returned in full, as he memorized every detail of the tyrannosaurus Zoid. "Sturm Tyrann." The reverence he placed on the Zoid's very name pretty well summed up his feelings at that moment. "Holy crap, I can't believe I'm seeing this."

Denger's sudden appearance at his side snapped Ian out of his nearly trance-like state. He looked down at Denger surprised, then back at the three Zoids before him. He dropped a hand onto Denger's head and gave a quick rub. "Utterly majestic. And the Fire Fox even seems happy to see you," he inclined his head at each in turn. I wonder where this Diablos is? I don't see another Organoid... Ian's gaze turned skyward with one hand shielding his eyes from the sun, wary of the warning he got earlier and not wanting his first experience with meeting his favorite Zoid to end with him as a bloody smear on the desert sand. Still, as his eyes dropped down again, it was so hard to keep from starring at the incredible Zoid before him...and to wonder about the mysterious woman nearby...he turned to her again, shook his head once more in complete awe.

Tempest finally lifted his head to turn it towards the humans and organoid, looking straight at Ian. Storm had heard the lad talking about the pointed flying death cat, but suddenly became angry when the energy liger looked like he was inflating like a balloon. "Don't you dare!"

What was supposed to be a screech to break their ear drums turned into a thunderous blast of air as Tempest soundlessly roared at them instead. Storm rocked on her heels slightly, glared right back at the Zoid, then finally turned back to Ian.

"Czar is very friendly and likes everyone. And don't let Tempest scare you," she gave the Zoid another sideways glare, then turned to Tyrant who was regarding them curiously. Raising a hand, she beckoned him over, and the giant red dinosaur shuffled around Czar to crouch down right next to them.

Hello, the tyrannosaurus thundered, twisting his head to one side to look down at the pair with one firey orange eye.

"Tyrant," Storm started, affection in her voice that didn't show on her face, "This is Ian. He's very excited to meet you."

In the background, Tempest huffed moodily, and Denger stuck his tongue out the big Zoid. Czar got on his belly and inched closer to the pair of humans, until Storm could reach out and pat him on the tip of his noise without looking away from the others.